Second Time 'Round
by starsafterrain
Summary: OWKB.  A romantically scalded Katie Bell works towards her college degree while an injured, down on his luck, Oliver Wood moves in with his old friend.  Together, they piece their lives back together and start an unlikely romance.
1. Chapter 1

She bit down on her lip hard, hard enough to almost draw blood, but then gradually released the pressure. Katie Bell ran a quick hand through her blonde hair, noticing that her fingers got tangled in it, frowned and returned to the piece she was working on. She squinted at the computer screen, tilted her head, readjusted her black framed glasses and started typing furiously. She paused to take a sip of wine and just as she was about to place her glass down, the phone rang, startling her, causing her to spill on herself. She leapt up and ran to the phone exasperated.

"Hello?"

"May I speak to a Katie Bell?"

"That's me... I'm here..." she said still out of breath.

"Hey, you probably don't remember me. Eliza? Eliza Wood?"

"Oh hi! It's quite a long time, Eliza. What can do for you?" she added quickly.

Of course she remembered Eliza, they ran in different social circles, but she remembered her.

"So, ummm... there's no easy way to ask but grapevine says that you've got an extra room in your flat. My brother, Oliver, he's run into a bit trouble and my mum thinks that he'd do better if he was just away from all of this. It won't be a permanent solution. It'll just be until he gets back on his feet and we'll help out with rent."

Oliver. She definitely remembered Oliver.

"Yes, I have an extra room but don't you think..." she was quickly cut off.

"Your mum said it would be no trouble at all, since it's not like you have friends or boyfriend to live with... and us being family friends and all."

Katie sighed. How pathetic was she? Even her mom thought she was hopeless. She looked at the huge stack of bills in the corner and sighed again.

"I guess its no trouble at all." she added. She definitely needed to learn to say no. It was one of those thing that came almost naturally to other people, that was impossible for her to do. It seemed the more she tried to work on it, the more hopeless it became.

"Great! I'll give you a call later to set everything up."

"But--"

She heard a click on the other end. Katie held the receiver and shook her head, and placed her phone back into the cradle and returned to the computer.

****************

Beads of sweat collected along his brow line and he used the back of his hand to brush away strands of unkept hair. He had made it up four flights of stairs with a box 14 of 19 of his belongings. He placed them against the wall in front of his new room and sat down, leaning his head back allowing it to touch the brick wall.

She said that she'd be here to help him move in over 30 minutes ago, but she was nowhere to be found. He placed his hand up on the ugly green carpet to push himself back up and go down the stairs again. It wasn't long before he heard the frantic sound of footsteps ascending the stairs.

***************

Katie ran up the stairs as fast as she could. She decided to take the subway back her apartment, but there was a slight hiccup in the transportation system and she was stuck in a crowded traincar for longer than usual. She saw a couple of boxes at the bottom of the staircase and she picked up two of them and started ascending. She started rehearsing what she would say to Oliver once she saw him again. "Oh hi, I'm sorry for being late..." "Oh, long time no see... how are you?" "Oh, Oliver... you look-" She looked up just in time to collide with him letting the top box spill out.

He shot her an annoyed look as he knelt over trying to pick up the random contents that had spilled out of the box. She managed to quickly mutter a quick "sorry" before he turned around and headed back up the stairs. He yelled to her behind him, "Don't worry about the rest of the boxes, just unlock the door."

Feeling utterly pathetic, she dug through her bag for her keys and locked the door.

After he moved everything up, he grabbed the spare key and declared that he was heading out. Katie was almost relieved. She could finally finish up that paper that was due in a couple of days. She turned on the television and began writing again.

A bowl of ramen, two awful made for tv movies later, she had written a little over a page. She readjusted the way she sat and decided she would write at least half of her paper before calling it a night. Just then, the lock jiggled as Oliver walked in. For the first time, Katie got a good look at him. Brown Converses. Jeans. White Ribbed Sweater. Brown Leather Jacket. He looked different from the days of Hogwarts. He seemed more worldly, his features sharper, his eyes more fierce then the boyish charm he had when he was younger. He still had the look of mischief; he just filled out and grown into himself.

He tossed his keys on the coffee table and without paying attention to me walked into his room.

He came out of his room and asked, "Have you eaten anything yet?"

Katie looked at her half-eaten ramen and nodded. "Yeah, I ate dinner." She hoped that he couldn't tell how nervous she was answering him. She glanced up to see him looking intently at her.

"Have you had dessert yet? You haven't eaten until you've had dessert," he said with a weak smile and opening up his jacket just enough to reveal a pint of ice cream.

"Housewarming present?" he said to her across the room.

Oliver grabbed two spoons and took a seat next to her. He scooped a spoonful for her and for himself and handed her a spoon.

Just as Katie reached out to grab the spoon, he clinked the two spoons together and said, "Cheers," before he placed his spoonful into his mouth and decided to make his way into his new bedroom, spoon still in mouth.

Katie looked down at the pint of ice cream he had bestowed upon her, smiled, and took another bite before readjusting her attention back to her paper.


	2. Chapter 2

Katie woke up with the realization that she had fallen asleep while writing her paper last night. Her blank page still stared back at her menacingly. The ice cream had inconveniently left an unsightly watermark on her coffee table. She sighed and decided to hit the showers. She stood in the shower and turned on the water. She shrieked as cold water poured on her but toughed it out as the water gradually, although too gradually, warmed up.

She left the shower ready for another day of classes. She towel-dried her hair and placed it in a messy bun, put on a quick t-shirt, blazer, jeans and a pair of worn tennis shoes, grabbed her bag and skipped out the door for another day of classes.

Oliver woke up and scratched his head realizing it was past noon. He did some quick unpacking, but he would have the rest of the day to get everything together. He opened up a box labeled "Memorabilia" and started to go through everything. He put up several trophies, "Most Outstanding Young Player," and of course the awards he received back at Hogwarts. He had his old robes and came across pictures. Pictures of him playing Quidditch with Puddlemere, pictures of him and his new friends, pictures of his family, and finally pictures of him and the entire Gryffrindor team. He smiled a sad smile and placed it ontop of the stack of pictures. Before he had the time to place the stack of pictures down, he heard a small knock on his door.

"Hey, the professor was awful today, I couldn't pay attention... but at least I got part of my essay completed in his class" she said with a weak smile.

Oliver raised his head to allow his eyes to meet her eyes. "Yeah, I was just going through my stuff, unpacking... you know..." he raised up the stack of photos he was holding.

"Oh" she said and walked into his room and looked at them him. She smiled when she saw photos of the old Gryffindor team. The Weasleys and their bright red hair, Angelina and goofy grin, and Alicia and her curly hair, Oliver and his eyes gleaming with passion and there she was in the picture... excuding confidence. Her blonde hair reflected the sun giving her an aura of perfection.

She looked different now, she was worn out, he hair didn't have the same glow, and she was much skinnier. She noticed the difference and she was sure he did too. This realization made her suddenly self-conscious and she turned away.

"I.. uh... have this paper to work on, so I guess I'll see you around later for dinner?" she said quickly.

Oliver furrowed his brow, still looking at the picture.

She wrote a a little over a page of her essay as she opened up her organic chemistry book and started reading. She got through a couple of pages before Oliver walked past her again and headed out. After the door slammed, she found herself staring at the door and wondering what time he would come back.

And he did come back. Several hours later when Katie had already decided to call it a night. With a completely drunk and giggly stranger. She heard clattering coming from the kitchen. Katie poked her head out of the room and saw two dark figures heading towards Oliver's room. She sighed and went back to bed making sure she put on some headphones and tried to sleep through it all.

The next morning, Katie woke up to make herself a cup of coffee and get ready for classes hoping that she would be able to avoid Oliver and his latest conquest. Just as she finished the thought, she saw a cute brunette exit Oliver's room, readjust her dress. The brunette looked like one of those thin Marc Jacobs groupies with bedhead, pale complexion, and bright red lipstick that miraculously managed to survive through the night. The brunette coldly eyed Katie up and down just as Katie managed to mutter, "Hi, I'm the roommate." She nodded in understanding and left the apartment. Katie sighed and placed the toast in the toaster and to her dismay noticed an entire sink full of dishes, probably left over from Oliver's midnight snack. She sighed and started washing the dishes.

Just as she finished drying the last dish, Oliver came out of his room and trudged out of the room. He saw her and managed a weak smile. "Thank God she left. It would have been bad if she found out I forgot her name." He turned around to see Katie putting the last dish away in the cupboard. "I'm uh, sorry about dinner, something came up." he added. Katie looked at him and went back to looking at the toaster. She thought a while and then said, "Next time just remember to wash your own dishes." Before he had time to utter an apology, Katie added, "I've got classes" and left a confused Oliver standing next to the toaster. Just as the door slammed shut, the toaster popped up two pieces of toast.

Thanks for the reviews. This is my first story, so comments, questions, and concerns are all welcome. I can seriously use ALL the help I can get. Cheers.


	3. Chapter 3

Katie came back to find Oliver reading a magazine article about Christian Lacroix on the couch. So instead of brainfull of Quidditch plays, he's got a brainfull of supermodels now. She couldn't really decide which Oliver she preferred more. She thought about the brunette she saw earlier that morning and shook her head to try and rid herself of the image. He looked up slowly as she made her way to her room.

"You know, I'm really enjoying this view" he held up a picture of a supermodel in a royal blue trenchcoat. "No wonder men all over the world are embracing their sexuality and discovering fashion" Oliver said to himself in a way that Katie would overhear.

Katie made a quick grimace.

"Oh what is it that bothered you? The fashion part or the sex part?" Oliver said suggestively wiggling his eyebrows.

"You're. not. that. hot." Katie spat out. She then turned around and started walking brisquely to her room.

"Katie?" he said, half expecting her to completely ignore him. She turned around slowly. "I'm sorry about that... I know I probably crossed some boundaries. Especially with the sleepover part. Probably should have checked with you first" he said and went back to reading his fashion magazine intently.

Seeing that he was sincerely sorry, she felt her resolve melt as she turned around and walked towards him.

"Her name was Sandra" she added.

He looked up confused.

"The girl you brought back home last night... her name is Sandra... she's my TA for my Visual Arts class. Next time, try for someone that can actually improve my grade, like a professor." She grabbed a handful of grapes from the bar and started to munch on them.

Seeing that she'd completely forgiven him, Oliver looked up. "Hey, I want some grapes too!" he said as he walked towards Katie.

Just as he walked close enough, Katie tossed a grape at him, meaning to hit him square in the forehead. However, Oliver managed to jump up into the air fast enough to and catch it with his mouth. He gave her a smirk.

"So this is how we're going to play is it? I'll remember this the next time I share food with you" he said as he looked at Katie. Suddenly, he lunged at her.

Seeing this, Katie threw the rest of the grapes she had in her hand at Oliver and made a mad dash for the fruit bowl. She grabbed it, reached into it and grabbed another handful of grapes and threw them as hard as she could at him. As she rounded the corner of the apartment she could see Oliver right behind her. She grabbed another handful of grapes and threw them at him and watched him try and hide from being pelted by a handful of grapes. She ran a few more feet and threw another handful at him. Katie jumped ontop of the window sill and just as she saw Oliver slow down to prevent himself from slamming into the into the window, she threw another handful of grapes. Then she kicked off of the window sill using it to quickly change direction, and leapt ontop of the recliner and then slid down to the floor. She threw another handful of grapes at Oliver; this time she saw the grapes splatter against the glass and slowly slide down the window leaving a trail of juice. She made a face before she started running again. She was running out of breath and Oliver was closing in on her. She ran to one side of the couch as Oliver ran to the other side. She reached into the bowl to grab a handful of grapes again to realize that her fingers scraped the bottom of the bowl. She was out of ammunition. Panicked, Katie looked down and saw two very sad looking grapes at the bottom. She looked up to find Oliver grinning madly.

It now was only a matter of time.

Oliver roared like a madman and lunged over the couch and grabbed one of her legs. Katie shrieked as she tried to break free. Just when she thought all was lost, she hear a loud banging upstairs.

"YOU KEEP IT DOWN! KEEP IT DOWN OR I'M CALLING THE COPS!"

Oliver immediately let go and Katie tumbled forward hitting the ground.

Katie sat up on the floor still panting and giggling and yelled, "I'M SO SORRY MRS. MCCLOWSKEY!"

Oliver brushed the grapes away and took a seat next to Katie and chuckled. Suddenly, their eyes met. Katie tried to stop looking into his dark brown eyes, but found it almost impossible to tear herself away from his gaze. She could feel herself heating up and starting to blush. Suddenly, a magazine slid of the couch and hit the ground with a loud thump and broke thier gaze. Both scrambled to reach for the bowl and get the last two grapes in the bowl. Oliver with his lanky arms managed to grab the bowl, but Katie swiftly reached into the bowl stealing the grapes and stuffed them into her mouth. By the time Oliver looked up from his empty bowl, he saw Katie smile and start munching.

Oliver moaned and smiled back at Katie as she jumped up and walked back to her room. On her way, she picked up the fashion magazine that was knocked to the floor, feeling something thick in between the pages of the magazine. She flipped it open to reveal a very worn "Quidditch Through the Ages."

Katie laughed and held up the book. "Old habits die hard huh? Do you want to explain this to me?" Katie said in the most serious tone she could muster.

Oliver looked embarassed and shrugged. He bit his lip and started to blush. "I guess, I was just trying to make conversation."

"Well, I'm studying architecture and a little art history... not fashion." she sighed and smiled. "Oliver Wood, you have not changed one bit..." Katie added.

"And I'm assuming you think you have?" He looked up at her and smiled. "So you want to tell me what's so different about the new Katie Bell?" He stood up and was suddenly uncomfortably close to her. Her first instinct was to back away, but her feet were glued to the ground. She slowly looked up and took in the smell of his hair.

Without further warning, a loud explosion rattled the entire apartment and water started seeping down through the floor above, showering the both of them. Katie cried in shock as Oliver quickly grabbed Katie's arm, and led her our of the apartment. At least she wouldn't have to clean up the grape mess tonight.

I realize that I am a complete sappy mcsapsap, but I figure I needed a summer project... (last year I learned all the moves to "Thriller")But what's a better summer project than writing a story? Thanks for all the reviews... I'm thanking in advance here. Also, this story takes place in Boston, because in the next chapter I make some allusions. I decided on the little fashion insert because Courture Collections are out and well... they're fun.


	4. Chapter 4

The night was chilly as Katie and Oliver walked down the street together in silence. The street lights reflected Katie's hair leaving almost a bluish white glow. The grass still managed to stay green even though it was deep in the fall. She and Oliver started walking towards the Harvard bridge. As they started walking on the bridge over the black water, the wind blew and she shivered but bit her lip. Oliver took off his hoodie and handed it to her before she had a chance to protest. She could still feel his warmth on the it and she wrapped it around herself and inhaled deeply. It was distinctly Oliver. She smiled to herself. "Thanks," Katie whispered just loud enough for him to hear her. Katie quickly skipped a few steps to keep up with Oliver's longer stride. He looked down at her and grinned.

Oliver grabbed a hold of Katie's arm and pointed to skyline of Boston. "You know this is a magnificent view," Oliver pointed out. "It's really breathtaking actually."

Katie looked out and nodded in agreement. She realized that she had walked over this bridge over a thousand times but she rarely ever took in the view of the city. She was always running late for a lunchdate or coming back from classes exhausted, so she rarely ever got a chance to truly stand and take in the view.

As soon they crossed the bridge, there was a small coppery green edifice. Oliver pointed at the small sandwich shop and said, "I bet you that this place has the strongest coffee in town."

Katie gave him a confused look.

Oliver pointed to the small Irish pub across the street and gave her a grin.

"It's not as wild as you think. Well, you should see it on St. Patrick's Day. Hell, you should see all of Boston on St. Patrick's Day. They're almost as rowdy as when the Red Sox beat the Yankees." Katie made a face.

Oliver looked puzzled.

"Baseball? Oh nevermind. Just don't wear any caps around here that don't have a "B" on it around here." She gave him a goofy grin and purposely nudged him arm.

When they got to the front of the shop, Katie saw a man in his fifties in an apron stacking up the chairs on the tables. She tried the door, but it was locked. The man looked up and was just about to point to the "We're Closed" sign but seeing Katie's sad frown, he walked over to the door and unlocked it. Katie mouthed thanks to him repeatedly as his fished for his keys trying to find the right one.

As soon as he opened the door, she and Oliver ran through the door both of them shivering and still a little wet from the water spill.

"My waterheater exploded and well... My friend and I would love some coffee. I'll even make it myself if you want to continue closing up shop" Katie said in one breath.

The guy smiled and said, "Don't worry about it, I've made some already some already for the poor bastard who'll come in an hour or two and have to deal with all the drunks." He reached for two styrofoam cups and filled both of them to the brim and slid the sugar and creamer to Oliver on the table.

Katie emptied her pockets of change and waved goodbye as she followed Oliver out the door. He handed one of the cups to Katie and both of them headed deeper in the city.

Oliver took a sip from his cup and swallowed painfully. "See I told you that this would the strongest cup of coffee in the entire city."

Katie smiled at him and said, "Well, it's strong because of all the frat houses down these two streets and definitely NOT because of the Irish pub, it's just filled with bikers."

Oliver swallowed. "So, uh you frequent these frats?"

"Well yes, several of my friends live--" she cut herself after she realized what he was insinuating and glared at him.

"What? It was just a question" he said and shrugged his shoulders.

She held the cup in her hand feeling the heat emanating from it. She took a sip and frowned. "There's no sugar in this, you know?" she said jokingly.

"I think you're sweet enough already." he replied and they kept on walking.

She gently punched him in the arm and he looked at her.

"Don't make me regret what I just said." he said with a grin.

He walked towards the city park and took a seat on the grass next to the Charles River. Katie followed him and took a seat next to him. It was breezier next to the river and Katie shivered again. It was nearly winter and she was never really used to weather like this. Oliver took this opportunity to put his arm around Katie's waist and pulled her closer to him. She blushed a little, just as he quickly stuffed his hand into the hoodie pocket. She looked up at him.

"What? My hands were cold. When this hand defrosts, I'll move to the left of you and do the same." Oliver added and made a goofy face at her.

Katie laughed. It was one of those relaxed laughs she hadn't had in a really long time. She realized that she was having fun in the first time in a really long time.

"You know you are really different from what I thought you would be" he said looking out at the river.

Katie sat there in silence.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that it just seemed like you were perfect. You were always smiling, always happy, always peppy and everyone loved you. Just now, there's just more to you. It makes you more real and a whole lot less intimidating," Oliver quickly added to explain his first comment.

Katie realized that she had changed a lot since Hogwarts, but she wasn't sure she liked how much she changed.

Oliver continued, "You know, you don't speak much do you?"

Katie looked and him and laughed, "Does anyone when they're with you?"

Oliver pouted and sat there silent for a while. After several moments, he found the silence unbearable and started to fiddle with a piece of grass. "You know after we graduated from Hogwarts, you just dropped off the face of the map. I mean I wrote to you..." he drifted off and started again, "Just, I didn't think I'd ever see you again." Oliver stated.

Katie stared out at the river and said, "It's complicated. A lot of this stuff is just complicated. I just needed to get away for a while." Katie felt uncomfortable and leaned away from Oliver.

"Guess I just didn't expect you turn your back on a friendship of seven years" he added bitterly.

"Like I said said Oliver, it's complicated. We should probably head back anyway. I've got to deal with the landlord and classes tomorrow." Katie got up and started walking home. Oliver followed her in silence regretting every word of the last sentence he said to her.


	5. Chapter 5

Katie got up the next morning feeling oddly defeated. She remembered what happened last night and placed a hand over her eyes to try and block the mental replay of what happened. She sat up and trudged to the bathroom and turned on the faucet to splash some cold water on her face wondering if he would be there, wondering if he would try and bring up what happened last night, wondering if she could face him and his accusations. She made her way to the kitchen expecting a huge mess. Literally and metaphorically.

What she didn't expect was Oliver on the couch watching tv and the kitchen the way it was before the incident last night. "Morning Katie!" he said with a smile.

"Did you do this Oliver?" Katie asked.

Oliver silently nodded. "I just figured that you were too tired last night to deal with this mess and after all, you did wash those dishes for me the other day."

"You really shouldn't have." she said disappointedly. "It's not right, Oliver." Katie added.

"What do you mean Katie? How is this wrong?" Oliver asked confused.

"I don't know. It's complicated." she replied brusquely.

"That's a popular answer these days isn't it?" he said. "Complicated. Is that that it? Is that why you abandoned your family, your friends? Complicated. Is that why you ran away from home?" He stood there with that look. The pitiful condescending look he would give someone who he thought was totally beneath him and it wasn't the first time Katie had received that look from someone she cared about.

Something inside of Katie just crumbled. Her cheeks burnt, she felt bile slowly rising up and tears started well up in the corner of her eyes. Katie's heart pounded so hard it felt like it would explode. Her hands were bunched in fists so tightly that her nails dug into her skin. Every breath she took pained her and her lip trembled. She yelled back at him.

"No, because I didn't have a home to go back to. Is that what you NEEDED to hear? My dad ran off with another woman and my mom, my mom was so distraught she could barely take care of herself and I... I had to leave." Katie trailed off, took a deep breath and pushed forward. "I reminded her of him and magic reminded me of him so I left. I left home and I left our world. Life... you can't fix it... you can't just wave a wand over it and fix everything." She raised her hands up and violently let them fall on the dining room table. She choked on her sobs as she sprinted to her room and slammed the door. Katie collapsed on her bed and felt waves of tears overcome her.

She would miss her classes today.

She woke up later that night, sheets soaked in her tears, starving. She felt her stomach grumble and she clutched it. She peered out into the hall and saw darkness. She tiptoed out of her room and tripped over foreign object. He let out a moan as she frantically reached for the light switch.

Oliver was lying in front of her room dazed.

"What are you doing?" Katie asked, still completely shocked.

"I was... well, you seemed upset. I wanted to stick around in case you needed to talk... and I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed." Oliver said slowly watching her carefully and waiting for her reaction.

Katie shrugged and smiled weakly. "It was a while ago, but I'm still a little raw about it." she said. "I'm starving too. C'mon. Let's go get something to eat."

Oliver slowly stood up and said, "Pasta, Pasta, I made pasta earlier."

"Well, Oliver, I would love to have some of that Pasta, Pasta." Katie said playfully.

After they made their way to the kitchen, Oliver heated up the pasta and watched Katie sit there with her placemat and silverware. She looked absolultely adorable with her eyes puffy and her hair a mess. She suddenly seemed a lot more vulnerable... approachable almost... She was definitely different from high school. She put her head down and pressed her cheek against the marble countertop and felt the heat from her cheek dissipate.

She looked up at Oliver who was still looking at her intently. "So, why Boston?" he asked her while he nervously brushed his fingers over knuckles.

She looked up. "Why not Boston? It's the perfect college town. Perfect place to start over, filled with people looking for a chance to improve their lives and I'm just one of them." She leaned over the counter and looked straight at him. "What about you Oliver? You were always going on and on about Quidditch. Last I heard you were playing for Puddlemere" Katie said.

"You didn't hear?" Oliver asked.

Katie seemed puzzled.

"I started off on the reserve team and eventually made it to the stating team. It was just difficult always being the the spotlight. People always expected me to do certain things." He looked down at his hands as if they was the most interesting thing in the world. "I was expected to make a certain number of blocks every game and I tried so hard to please everyone, it was just all I worried about... I didn't do very much living for myself. So when I had this shoulder injury, I just figured it was time to take a break." Oliver shrugged. He placed a plate of hot pasta in front of Katie and took a seat to watch her eat.

As Katie ate, she wondered who the man sitting next to her was. At Hogwarts, Oliver was obviously Quidditch obsessed in the weird geeky sort of way. He was so concerned with Quidditch he was literally clueless to everything around him. His confused comments after his daydreams of winning the House Cup were the ones that made the entire class chuckle. He was what many of the girls would call "potential" or a "diamond in the rough" but he was just too scattered, too disorganized for anyone to really get to him. But it seemed like Puddlemere had forced him to do some growing up. He seemed the more calm and collected one now. It made Katie smile.

"EAT EAT!" Oliver's commands interrupted Katie's thoughts.

She smiled at him and continued eating. "I know better then to make plans with you, but some of my awful drunken frat boy friends have invited me to go to dinner to celebrate their transition from pledges to official brothers. In other words, steak and lobster dinner. Lots of it. I was wondering if you wanted to come?" she looked up from her plate and focused on Oliver.

"So you're going to feed me and force me to meet potential suitors. I guess that is a fair trade." Oliver winked at her.

"Now why don't we have fraternities in England?" Oliver whined. "You've got some amazing friends, you do." Oliver smiled.

Katie plopped down on the couch and listened to Oliver chat about her friends.

"I couldn't believe they sang that song and made him drink all of that." Oliver was still laughing to himself. "And oh, need I even mention the drunken Einstein competition? How you and the rest of the group managed to do calculus after the number of shots you took... man. I can't even do calculus sober." Oliver shook his head.

"It's obviously the only way to do calculus. Drunk. So it's less painful. Only the really smart Russian whiz kids do it sober. Alcohol makes even huge feats trivial." Katie added as she leaned back into the couch.

"You like it here, don't you?" Oliver asked knowing the answer.

Katie smiled. "Oh yeah. I love it here."

"Well, I love it here with you too." Oliver walked over kissed her cheek and walked into his room.

Katie placed her hand on her cheek and she could still feel it burning. She shook her head, broke out her laptop, and continued writing her essay before the effects alcohol would wear off. After all, alcohol made even the hugest feats trivial.

Katie had gone to her classes and came back to her little apartment. Her legs felt vibrations as her Converses forcefully pushed her up every step of the 10 flights of stairs she would have to run up. By the time she got there, she was slightly out of breath as she fished for her keys to open the rickety door.

She charged into the room as she couldn't wait to see what Oliver had whipped up for dinner.

"Oliver?" Katie yelled.

"Woah. There's the special girl! I made... Chicken Cordon Bleu and you have a special delivery from a very strapping young lad today." Oliver smiled and tilted his head over at a large cardboard box on the couch.

Katie walked up behind Oliver, stood on her tip-toes and looked over his shoulder to look what was inside the skillet. He looked so adorable in a striped apron slaving over the stove. She smiled and walked towards the big cardboard box on the couch. "Who delivered it?" she asked Oliver as she took the top off the box. She paused for a minute and she felt her cheeks heat up again. There was a lump in throat again and she sat down on the couch in silence. "Nevermind" she muttered. "Nevermind" she said softly as a tear streaked down her cheek.


	6. Chapter 6

"Dinner is..." Oliver looked up at Katie with a smile only to realize that she sat silently on the couch with her arms propped on her knees staring at her feet. "Served?" he said as he put down the skillet and walked towards her.

She still sat on the couch not paying attention to him. Another tear streaked down her face and fell onto the hardwood floor.

"Woah, woah, woah. Katie? Who said you could turn on the waterworks?" he gently placed a hand on her back and sat down on the armrest of the couch. He looked into the box and saw a large computer monitor with a string of chili pepper lights around it. Oliver stood up and lifted the big box off of the couch and placed it on the floor and then took a seat next to her. He opened his mouth to speak, decided against it, but then realized that he had to say something. "Well, I know from now on to get you LCD screens."

He placed a hand on her back and she started sobbing. Oliver reached for her feet and propped them up on his legs and then placed his arm around her knees so she was facing him. He put his forehead against hers but the tears just wouldn't stop.

He gave her a hug and said, "Everything's going to be okay."

Katie choked back a sob and said bitterly, "Exes can be such a bitch." She sat up trying to reach for a Kleenex, but Oliver beat her to it and handed her the entire box. She wiped her eyes and sunk back into the couch.

"I bet they can." Oliver said as he hesitated again. "Wanna tell me about it?" He looked at her again.

Katie looked up at him and said, "You'll think I'm ridiculous. I mean I think it's ridiculous."

"I'll be the judge of that." Oliver said as he looked straight into her eyes.

"Just we've been on this huge cycle of breaking up and getting back together and breaking up again. It's just been hard. And every once and a while, I'll get a letter that'll be like I miss you and then the next day he'll send another saying that he hates me and it's just awful. He just said I wasn't the ONE. And then we've just been dating for such a long time that I thought I knew him and then we break up and he goes out every night and it just made me wonder if I knew him at all because we never did that while we were dating. He wasn't right for me, but it didn't mean that I loved him any less. That was the monitor I gave him when his burnt out." Katie wiped a tear away and looked up at him.

"Well, I knew he was a flighty bastard the moment I laid eyes on him." Oliver put his hand ontop of hers.

"No you didn't, Oliver. You called him a strapping young lad." Katie copied Oliver's accent and then sighed and then snifled. Both of them sat in silence as Oliver held Katie's hand gently, running his thumb over her knuckles.

A smile crept up on Katie's face.

"What Katie? What?" Oliver asked her impatiently. "What's making you smile?" he added, much relieved at this point.

"You answered the door right?" Katie asked.

Oliver nodded still confused.

"We'll you're a strapping young lad yourself." Katie said, and her smile grew.

"You're using me as MEAT!" he said and pouted, but not very successfully because the corners of his mouth kept on creeping up. "Well, you'll be glad that I had just finished showering and answered the door dripping and he got to see Oliver Wood in all of his glory, that couldn't be covered up in your tiny pink towel." and flexed as he spoke to her.

And Katie laughed. She laughed so hard that she had to slide all the way down on the couch and clutch her stomach. And then, she laughed a little more.

"Thank God Katie. You continued that crying any longer, the people downstairs were going to think that water heater exploded." Oliver using his fist to playfully jab at Katie's chin.

She did the only thing she could at the moment and grabbed a pillow off the couch and hit him with it.

He immediadely grabbed at her feet preventing Katie from escaping. "Katie, you shouldn't do that. It's unkind." he said sill trying to keep her legs under control.

Katie sat up and tried to use her hands to break free of Oliver's grip on her legs. Failing miserably she decided to push Oliver down on the couch. She realized she pushed just a little too hard when both of them fell on the floor with a loud thump. She looked over at Oliver noticing that he had let go of her legs. Katie started panicking, unsure if he had hit his head on the coffee table when they fell.

"Oliver?" she cried as she crawled up near him.

Silence.

"Oliver?" she said even less sure of herself and she proceeded to shake him.

Silence.

It was at this time Katie started to stand up and make a run for the phone just as Oliver groaned and grabbed her hand pull her ontop of him.

"I see stars and oh, look I must be in heaven because I see an angel." Oliver said and smiled weakly.

Katie was shocked. It was the most ridiculous, cheesy thing she had ever heard. Her mind raced to try and find all the good comebacks that she could try and say to him. Instead, she simply raised her hand to playfully punch him in the arm.

But before the punch could connect with his arm, Oliver grabbed Katie and kissed her, and she let her fist fall to her side.

* * *

Sigh. Sappy McSapSap. This is what happens when I decide that it's a brilliant idea to go to some exotic country and work for the summer and the guy I have a crush on forgets to tell me that although he IS in fact in the same country, he's merely on the other side of it. So I end up miserable and alone and working 10 hour days posting chapters everyday! Yay!

BUT I am in a better mood than most because tomorrow is Friday AND my friend knowing my complete patheticness bought me a copy of "Dieux de Stade" for Bastille Day! Yay! So I have muscley rugby men to keep me company! Hmm. AND I got a special IM from the special cute boy on the other side of the country. Sigh. Falls off chair.

Oh, AND I figured out how to do the line-thingie, so now I can separate parts of my stories, so they're not all connected together because everytime I do a little line of stars they all disappear. Thanks for the comments! Yay!


	7. Chapter 7

Katie's mind raced wildly as she realized that Oliver Wood was kissing her. She couldn't exactly say that the thought of kissing Oliver hadn't crossed her mind, but she started thinking... no, she started panicking. Oliver ran a hand through her hair. What was all of this supposed to mean? She started to kiss him back. Katie was never a fan of awkward moments and she just couldn't shake the feeling that this would certainly lead to a very awkward situation.

But before she finished the thought, there was a loud banging through the floor, "KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATIIIIIEEEE! Is everything okay down there? I heard screaming. If you're in trouble just tell me. I'll bring down some brownies... remember the code BROWNIES?!?" Katie heard a click from upstairs probably from her elderly neighbor cocking a gun.

Katie and Oliver both sat up and broke apart as if they were back at Hogwarts and had been walked in on by a Professor.

"No, no it's fine. I just dropped my books..." Katie said and paused for a moment hoping that it would be convincing enough.

Oliver shot her a look.

"-on my foot. Yeah, I dropped them on my foot. It just really hurt and I've been hopping around." Katie looked up at Oliver hoping it would be enough to convince her pro-NRA gun toting friend upstairs from blasting through her door.

"Oh okay Katie. I was just worried. You put some ice on that and stop all that studying you're doing. How are you going to catch the eye of that cute young man I've seen around your apartment?" the voice upstairs said, and then chuckled.

If Katie was waiting for an awkward moment, this was it. She turned a bright shade of pink and then jumped up making sure to turn away from Oliver. "I better go and make sure she doesn't phone the police," she said darted out the door before Oliver had time to remind her to limp upstairs.

When she returned, the rest of the afternoon was exactly as Katie had imagined it. Awkward. She and Oliver had avoided each other all afternoon allowing her to seriously concentrate on memorizing all of the facts for her art history class. Well, that is until she could feel his eyes on her and then she's glance up to see him engrossed in some awful Sunday afternoon movie. She would then read a few glossy pages in her art book and then feel him looking at her again, but when she looked up he would be reading a magazine or doing something else. Katie looked at Oliver carefully, he seemed completely unaware of her looking at him as he sat in the couch with his legs propped up on the ottoman watching re-runs of House M.D. and hugging a crocheted pillow to his chest.

Katie was getting hungry and Oliver wasn't cooking. Was this some kind of hint to her that she would have to acknowledge his presence before he would cook for her? Katie wondered. Maybe she should talk to him and make some useless conversation. She looked back up at him watching tv. Maybe she was just spoiled, after all, Oliver was her flatmate not her chef. He was nice enough to cook for her in the past but it doesn't mean she should expect if of him. Maybe that was it. She looked up again at him and her stomach grumbled a bit. Katie decisively picked up the phone and dialed the Chinese place down the street.

Oliver immediately looked up from the tv and gave Katie a confused look, but before Katie could wonder what he could possibly mean by it, he returned to watching his tv show.

Before long, the doorbell rang and Katie ran to get the delivery and after giving the delivery guy a large tip, the plastic handles on the bag broke and she struggled to get all the cartons of food back to the coffee table. Oliver noticing, jumped up from the couch and walked over to help her with the large pile of little Chinese take out boxes she was trying desperately to balance. He took two of the top boxes and when he reached for the third box, he accidently brushed into her hands making her tense up and shiver.

"Do we need to talk about this?" Oliver looked up and into Katie's eyes. He seemed to be extremely uncomfortable about the situation they were currently in, shifting his weight from one leg to the other and back again.

"No, no. We're both adults. I think we'll be fine. I'll take the egg rolls and be in my room if you need anything. I've got to get all of these paintings memorized anyway." Katie gave him her most convicing smile she could manage, but Katie wasn't exactly okay. She was far from it and her stomach churned with turmoil, but it wasn't something she could make better by talking to Oliver. She realized that she wouldn't have anything to tell him anyway.

Oliver seemed to be relieved that the awkwardness for the night had died down, but he would soon regret not talking to Katie. He turned on the tv and watched another silly tv made for movie until he retired to his room for the night.

The next morning, Oliver heard some klinking of silverware and running water coming from the kitchen. He dismissed it as a dream, but when he heard the gurgling of the coffeemaker and the scent wafting into the room, he jumped up ready for a cup, sure that he could make all the awkwardness yesterday pass.

"Katie, is that coffee?" Oliver walked towards the kitchen.

He suddenly realized that there was chattering coming from the kitchen that suddenly stopped. He approached the kitchen.

"Oliver, I'm really sorry but I didn't exactly make enough for-" Katie trailed off as she looked at Oliver staring at the man with a bluish-gray sweater leaning against the counter, who also happened to be the same man who dropped off the box at her apartment the other day. "Oliver this is my-"

"I know who he is." Oliver said as he clenched his fists.

The man, realizing Oliver's cold greeting, looked down at his own extended hand ready for a handshake, and slowly retracted it.

"Okay, Katie, I'm going out for a run and won't be back for a while. Be careful with that one," Oliver pointed to one of the burners on the stove while he looked unwaveringly at the man. "I would hate for you to get burned."

With that, he was off.

* * *

Poor Oliver. Somebody take that poor boy home.

Short chapter... I know, but you can definitely blame that on the fact that: 1) my big nasty project at work is due at the end of this week, 2) my friend came to town to visit me so we've been planning weekend jaunts everywhere, 3) he's been freaking out about the GREs so I figure I should be studying too and 4) I bought Sherlock Holmes Complete Novels and Stories and its been raining... so there's nothing better than reading murder mysteries when its raining outside.

Thanks for all of the reviews and I promise I'll get back to responsing to all of them at some point. Just like I'll force myself to write a chapter every few days. Cheers.


	8. Chapter 8

Katie came back to an empty and dark apartment with her head throbbing from a day's work. She spent the day at the library and studying and waiting for Oliver to go to sleep so she wouldn't have to face him and his disapproval of her choices. Whatever that kiss meant, or whatever he meant that kiss to mean, if anything at all... well, he certainly didn't expect to wake up and find her ex in the kitchen with her for one. Kissing a girl and then having her ran back to her ex probably isn't the most self-esteem boosting thing that could happen to you.

She opened the fridge to look for something, anything she could heat up. She scanned the contents of her fridge... A jar of pickles, a can of film she still needed to get developed from her trip to Montreal, some orange juice, and some cottage cheese that had been in her fridge for way too long. Oliver obviously didn't cook tonight.

She shook her head and looked into the freezer noticing a huge tub of ice cream. Happy about this, she took a spoon and tried to dig into her ice cream, but it just wouldn't budge. She stuck the entire tub into the microwave for a few seconds, hoping that it would soften the ice cream up.

"Hey." he said startling her.

Katie literally jumped.

He was wearing plaid boxers and rubbing his forehead and while his eyes adjusted to the light. His hair was slightly dishoveled and he gave her a tired smile.

"You're back late" he said in a voice that sounded slightly bitter. He must have realized it too because immediately added in a cheerier voice, "Ice cream. Had I known you ate your ice cream that way I would have bought them in little microwavable tubs." He took the ice cream out of the microwave and did a quick charm so the ice cream scoop started scooping ice cream into a small bowl.

Katie smiled as she watched the small bowl fill up and the scoop rinse itself and store itself in the cupboard.

"How was your visit this morning?" he asked.

"Good. It was a nice chat. There were some things that needed hashing out and some things that needed to be talked over." Katie carefully said, trying to skim over the topic.

Oliver realized this and headed over to the coffee table and brought over a small bag. He opened it to reveal a small slice of cheesecake and handed it over to Katie and rinsed off a fork for her to eat with her ice cream and handed it to her with a napkin.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Oliver said and jumped up on the kitchen counter on the kitchen counter and looked down on Katie slowly eating her cheesecake.

Katie looked up and smiled. She thought about it for a moment and said, "I'm always okay when you're around." She immediately wished she hadn't said it because the moment they left her mouth, it just sounded awfully cheesy. She could hardly stand it.

Apparently neither could Oliver. He was hunched over laughing hysterically, almost loosing his balance on the counter and toppling over into the sink.

Katie scowled and was even more confused. Sure it was cheesy and ridiculous, but it wasn't that funny.

In between gasps for air, Oliver managed to take the napkin from Katie and help her wipe off some chocolate that had been very attractively hanging from the side of her mouth and waved the napkin in front of her face.

Katie blushed. She looked down at her bowl of ice cream before Oliver started laughing again. She dipped her finger into the ice cream and when Oliver stopped laughing, she wiped her chocolatey finger across his chest.

Oliver was in complete shock as he jumped down from the counter and took the bowl of ice cream from Katie and chased after her with it.

She let out a small squeak and ran into the living room and when Oliver cut her off, she changed directions and headed towards her room, but just as she was about to run into the hallway, Oliver's arm was wrapped around her and picked her up off the ground. No matter how she shreiked and flung her arms, he wouldn't put her down on the ground. Oliver started laughing and held up to bowl of ice cream closer to Katie's head and motioned that he might pour the entire bowl on her. Katie let out a shriek.

Just when Katie thought all hope was lost and she would be covered in chocolate ice cream, the door to Oliver's bedroom swung open and out walked a tall blonde wrapped in Oliver's sheets. She shot Oliver a dirty look and Katie felt herself being lowered to the ground.

When she collected herself, Katie sighed and said, "I'm sorry about that. We're kinda loud." Just then, she heard the shower inside the bathroom turn on.

Oliver shrugged and decided to start washing the dishes, leaving Katie alone with her thoughts. She realized that she had gotten exactly what she wanted. Oliver obviously wasn't bothered by what happened this morning, she knew exactly where they stood and moreover, she didn't get covered in chocolate.

That was a good thing right?

* * *

* * *

Notes: Sorry guys, I've been sick and by sick I mean deathly ill! Serves me right I guess for following my crush to some random country on the other side of the world, he's too precious... but I digress and its probably not reason I'm sick. The reason I'm sick is because I've been a bad girl and eating too little and drinking too much... people feel SO bad for me after I whine that they buy the poor foreign girl rounds at the bar... no, not really, I just discovered absinthe. But I had a talk with him yesterday.

Me: Have you watched the first Harry Potter movie?

Him: No? I'm sorry. Why?

Me: Well, you look like a character in it.

Him: I highly doubt it.

Me: Trust me, you do.

Him: I can never watch movies, they're too long. I'd rather sit under a tree or run.

Me: You run? I never knew you ran. Why didn't you ever tell me you ran?

Him: I'm wearing plaid boxers. Since I'm supposed to tell you everything about me... but no, I don't run, well I do run, sometimes I walk, sometimes I stroll, and sometimes when I'm not walking or strolling... I run.

What a weird/geeky/adorable kid. Oh and he called me pretty and kind!!!!


	9. Chapter 9

It was burnt around the edges and he gently pressed down the middle part and it crumbled a little bit. Oliver looked up at Katie who was busy making toast for herself and looked back down at the piece of toast that now had a huge indent where he pressed down with his finger.

"Katie, I want to talk to you about last night." Oliver said as he looked up from his toast.

"I don't think there's anything to talk about. We're both adults and it'll be fine." Katie said then realizing that he seemed unhappy and and smiled reassuringly at Oliver.

"No, I can't have you mad at me you know, so I would rather have you just throw your fit and get it over with." Oliver said and looked back up at Katie.

"Actually, I'm not mad and everything's fine." Katie looked up and took the jam and started spreading it on her toast. "If you were running a brothel out of my house, I would care, but you having girls over... it's fine Oliver and I would be immature if I made a big deal out of it."

"Are you sure? Because last time you got really upset when..."

Katie cut him off. "It's really, truly, fine. I'm just really glad that I know where we stand now." She looked up at him and smiled at him and slid the jam back towards him on the kitchen counter.

"There was doubt about where we stood?" Oliver's head shot up and looked at Katie.

Katie looked up and then sighed. "I didn't mean that." She picked up her toast and took a bite and then placed the jam back in the fridge.

He looked down at his toast and silently started munching at his toast. He almost seemed sad.

Just then the doorbell rang and Katie ran to get the door. Just as she reached the door, she ran a quick hand through her hair, turned around and whispered to Oliver, "How do I look?" putting a hand on her hip and flashing him a quick smile.

He cleared his throat to answer just as Katie unlocked the door and it swung open to reveal Katie's ex boyfriend. He walked into the room, looked at Oliver, and turned to Katie and said, "I'll wait here while you get your stuff."

The man who was several inches taller than Oliver, walked towards Oliver and said, "I know we didn't meet on the best terms, but I should be over a lot more often so I guess it would be best if we were on good terms." He extended his hand to Oliver.

Oliver thought about it and begrudgingly took his hand.

"So Oliver, Katie tells me you're an professional athelete. What do you play?" he asked Oliver in a snide manner.

"Uh, it's a small time sport, cult following sort of thing. Not very popular and you probably wouldn't have heard of it." Oliver looked nervously at him.

"Oh I see," the man said to himself. "I was just wondering because when I heard you were an athlete, I got very excited. You see, I'm the captain of the football team, so when you play past a certain point, there's a level of determinism most serious athletes like us will have." He kept on talking as he took a seat across from Oliver. "But sooner or later, brawn is going to fail, you're going to get injured or something is going to happen, that is why I continued to go to college. Knowledge, you know, you're always going to have that and now I'm an aero/astro major at the best engineering school in the world. It gives me a level of stability. Katie's a smart girl so she appreciates the stability too."

Oliver looked at the man incredulously. He drummed his fingers on the countertop and hoped that Katie would show up sometime soon to that this man away.

"Oh, I see you've been talking." Katie smiled as she came in with her books and stuffed them quickly into her bag. "I'm glad to see you're getting along." She zipped up her bag and walked out the door with the man.

This wasn't the first time Oliver felt like he was 3 inches tall. He sat back in his chair and looked at his half eaten toast. He grabbed a piece off the table and started munching on it and then frustratedly threw it down. He looked at his watch. It was only 8:30. He still had quite a while to wait until it was socially acceptable to drink even at the local Irish pub. Defeatedly, he grabbed his aviators and keys and left the apartment.

* * *

Poor poor Oliver! He's too cute to be this miserable! Thanks for all the reviews! 


	10. Chapter 10

Note: I've been trying to portray these two characters as insecure and flawed because Katie's basically watched every meaningful relationship kinda crash and burn... the split of her parents... her and her ex AND she likes to run from her problems instead of actually facing them. I've been trying to hint that after Oliver's graduation, a lot of things have been really tough on her and she's been on the run ignoring her family, friends and magical past. Oliver is just the opposite. Unlike Katie, he wasn't particularly popular, kinda awkward kid who has made it big but can't really deal. So while he seems pretty confident... he's actually really insecure and confused and is on "break" because of an injury. So here are two characters that have been forced to grow up and while Katie openly doesn't have it together... Oliver is more secret about it. So yes, there's no magic and there are awkward mentions of Quidditch, but that really is the main conflict... So eventually Katie and Oliver will have to help each other face their problems AND live happily ever after. Because I say so. :0).

* * *

Katie walked back up the stairs of her apartment dragging her feet up the stairs. It had been a long day. Her professor called her in for a last minute chat about a research proposal she needed to complete by the end of the week and she already had plans to do for her architecture class due soon, not to mention she still had an awful physics problem set she had to work on... This wasn't going to be a pretty week. Katie could feel the stress already. She shook her head when she heard her stomach grumble. She opened the door to find the room completely dark. She groped around for the light switch and the moment she flicked it on, she found Oliver silently sitting on the couch staring at the wall. She nearly shreiked.

"You scared me Oliver. Why don't you turn on the lights?" Katie said as she picked up her bag that she dropped on the floor and walked over to the love seat and placed her bag down on the couch. She started to unpack and then realized that she probably wouldn't get much sleep tonight. She organized her books in little piles. She looked up and saw Oliver still sitting there staring at the wall. He looked like he had had a hell of a day and he had been drinking. From the looks of it, a lot.

"What's your problem, Katie?" he said not turning his head to look at her.

"What is MY problem?" Katie repeated as if in shock. She didn't know where this was coming from, and he was the person trying to make something out of nothing. How dense could this boy be? "I don't have a problem, but you certainly are trying to make a problem out of nothing there."

"That's your ex. Every time he walks all over you and everytime you roll out the welcome wagon." Oliver huffed.

So he still wasn't quite over that incident... but then again she still wasn't over the incident herself. "I just thought I would offer him some coffee and some saliva." Katie made a small spitting sound, grinned, and looked up at Oliver.

"Oh." Oliver looked up at Katie and back down at the wall.

"So we got that all cleared up?" Katie asked as she walked to the fridge and poured him a glass of orange juice. "Plus, I've got bigger fish to fry... this architecture project is going to kill me." She shot him another smile. She sat down on the ground and emptied out a bag of toothpicks and popsicle sticks. "I have to build this structure that will support over 50 kilos. All by the end of this week." Katie took out her blueprint and started to build.

"You know, you could just use-" Oliver was cut off.

"I'm not going to use magic to build my structure!" Katie added.

"Fine, fine." Oliver took the blue prints and then started to scan over them. "You should just know that the weight of this tower needs to be properly propogated."

"Properly propogated?" Katie giggled as she repeated what he just said. She grabbed her glasses off of the coffee table and looked over Oliver's shoulder to get a glimpse of the plans.

"Did you know that the arch structure is actually the strongest ever? Because the more weight you place on a structure, the more the structure compresses on itself and the stronger it becomes?" Oliver said just before he stuck a pencil in his mouth and thoughtfully munched on it.

"I know, but the structure itself- wait, Oliver, where did you learn that?" Katie asked, surprised.

"I read a book once." Oliver replied as he tilted his head and looked at the blueprints again.

"No really Oliver!" Katie impatiently punched his arm and laughed again.

"If I told you I'd have to kill you." Oliver smiled and started to measure and cut the popsicle sticks at the right lengths. Katie frowned and started to mix the paste.

Before she new it, hours has passed and she was looking at a drying structure... a true work of art. Oliver shifted his weight from one elbow to another, but toothpicks stuck onto his arms and he started to pull them off of him laughing.

"My little sister dated a real piece of work in junior high. I think she was about 11. She claimed that he was the love of her life and would never love anyone else again. After all, she had kissed him!" He laughed. "So when he broke it off with her, she was devastated and went on this hunger strike because she thought that if she starved herself and died... he'd be damn sorry. Anyway, no one and nothing could cheer her up. All of that tween angst you know?" Oliver sat up and started to clean up the mess. "She always wanted a treehouse. So I built her one to cheer her up and did my research. That's how I know how to build."

"Awww... is that a real story?" Katie smiled as she gently moved the structure over.

Oliver nodded.

"Well, I just finished dating a real piece of work... when do I get my treehouse?" Katie smiled at him and gently nudged him with her arm. She slowly stood up.

Oliver reached out and grabbed Katie's wrist just as she was about to walk away and walked up behind her. She could feel his breath on her making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She slowly turned around to face him. He ran the back of his hand along her jaw, making her swallow. He went in for a kiss, but this time Katie backed away into the couch.

"I do have a problem with this." Katie looked up and Oliver who seemed extraordinarily hurt. "I know you don't get turned down a lot, but I don't see it happening. I don't see anything coming of this." Katie backed up a little more along the couch.

"So the kiss got to you, didn't it? Is that why you invited him over? To see how I would react?" Oliver asked pointedly.

Katie thought about it for a while. He was half right and it made her feel awful. He came over unannounced the first time and she had spit into his coffee. After she found Oliver's guest in that night, she had invited him back over to show Oliver that she was unaffected. "You waltzed into this apartment on the first day with your nose up in the air, too good for me, too good for my apartment, too good for my world. What do you want from me, Mr. Hot- Shot? What the hell could you possibly want from me? I don't even know who you are anymore!" Katie looked at Oliver painfully.

"What do you want me to be? The poor old me. The guy that you and your friends made fun of back at Hogwarts for being too Quidditch Obsessed? The guy that was always nice to you no matter what you and your friends did? The guy you and your friends would giggle and talk about Cedric in front of? You think it was easy being me and painted as an obsessive loon? You think it was easy dealing with you and knowing that while I appreciated every moment with you, you couldn't wait for practice to end and whine about how crazy I was. Well, I was crazy, but crazy about you." Oliver looked down at his feet.

"Is that what this is all about now? If you can get under my skin? So yeah, fine. That kiss got to me. You got to me. The girls you bring back get to me. You win. You got your revenge. Aren't you happy?" Katie threw her arms in the air. She felt betrayed by the one guy she thought she could really trust.

"I walked into the apartment the first day I met you, I thought that I changed. That I was over this, that I was over you because I had everything I could have possibly wanted... because I had money and fame and power. Those girls... I thought you had made it clear that there was nothing between us. That we were just friends. I wanted to show you that I wasn't that same guy who just pined away and used Quidditch as a stupid excuse to talk to you. I wanted to show you that I could be there for you as a friend too... if you didn't want anything more and I would be supportive of it too." He leaned back on the wall and tilted his head backwards so that it would touch the wall. "But I'm still me. You still get to me, you've gotten to me for over 7 years and I'm still crazy about you. You'll be fine though, after tonight, you'll go and find that cute aero/astro guy in the gray sweater and you'll be fine and I'll still be me. I'll still be here and pathetic. I'll still be crazy about you, so no matter who holds the cards, you'll win. Stop testing me. Just stop testing me because you'll always fucking win." His voice cracked and his bottom lip trembled a bit but he inhaled deeply to cover it up. "So just don't be angry." He bit his lip and looked at Katie.

Katie stood there trying to figure out what he just said to her. She felt him brush past her and stopped in front of her and hesistated and quickly planted a small kiss on her forehead and slowly started to walk away. Tears streamed down Katie's face as she realized that it would take a hell of a lot more than her ex and a couple of days for her to be okay. She wanted to call out to him, but nothing came out and all she could do was watch him walk out the door.

She caught her breath and realized that she made a huge mistake. She ran barefoot out the apartment and running down the stairs hearing her feet echoing through the halls. She yelled Oliver as loud as she could and kept repeating his name as she descended the stairs, skipping multiple steps at a time. Just as she reached the second floor landing, she saw Oliver sitting in the corner with his face buried in his hands. She immediately sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him and placed her chin on his shoulder and whispered, "I can't promise anything and I can't even being to figure out what I feel for you... but I'm not going to be okay without you." She felt him tense and then relax and gently exhale. He lowered his hands and just as he was sure he was going to get teased about crying, she pressed her lips against his.

* * *

Awww... so everything is okay for now, but it ain't over until I say it's over. Thanks for the reviews! 


	11. Chapter 11

"Oi, Miss Bell, you have some mail. Let me fetch it for you."

Katie stood behind the front test of her apartment as the deskworker reached into a drawer and pulled out a huge stack of mail. Katie stood there remembering that it was the end of the month and over 90 of the stack would be bills. She shook her head and plastered a fake smile on her face as she thanked him and took the mail from him.

She looked through the stack. Phone bill. Water bill. JunkmailKatie shook her head. Electricity bill. Tuition Fee. And then, a letter addressed for Oliver with a Puddlemere Crest labeled URGENT. She looked on the envelope for a post-mark and couldn't find one. She slowly walked into her apartment and saw Oliver watching reruns of Law and Order.

"Oliver, you have mail." Katie said as she handed Oliver the envelope.

"I have junkmail already? They always said it's the most reliable sort of mail." Oliver joked as he reached for the envelope. He looked down and his expression hardened. "Oh, not Muggle mail then. It's nothing important." He then tossed the letter into the waste bin.

Katie knew better though, but she decided not to press.

Just then there was a small scratching on the glass.

"What could that be? We're five stories up!" Katie moaned. "I swear sometimes, this entire building is going to fall down!"

Suddenly a large grayish owl flew in from the open window in Katie' bedroom to drop another letter at Oliver's feet. Oliver seemed shocked.

"Oliver, what exactly is going on? AND you can't have mail delivered here like that... What will the neighbors think!" Katie yelled. "You have so much explaining to do!"

* * *

"YOU'RE BEING SUED?" Katie sat on the couch in disbelief. "You're being sued." She repeated to herself.

"Yeah. I broke the terms of my contract with Puddlemere. I got injured and needed time off." Oliver sat wringing his hands.

"So, there must be somewhere in that contract that says you get time off if your injured. I mean they can't just track you down and expect you to play injured. They wouldn't want you playing injured anyway... you wouldn't be at the top of your game." Katie explained to him thoughtfully.

"They say my injuries have healed." Oliver said still looking at his hands.

"You love Quidditch so much... if you could play I'm sure you would... I remember you got hit in the head with a Bludger and could barely sit up straight... and you still tried to convince the professors you could play." Katie smiled.

Oliver shifted uncomfortably.

"You are injured aren't you?" Katie asked, shocked as she slowly started to realize the extent of the situation.

"I've already taken off over 6 months for a shoulder injury. It wasn't even that serious to begin with. I just, I just feel like I was drowning everyday. I couldn't handle the fame, the expectations. I was just overwhelmed." Oliver said.

"Oliver, you realize you could lose everything. Your house, your savings, your reputation? You might never be able to play Quidditch professionally ever again." Katie whispered.

Katie saw the distressed state Oliver was in. She realized that although he always seemed collected and confident, he wasn't any more than a shell of a man and he was doing his best to keep everything together as best he could. She thought to herself, could this really get any worse?

Just then, a small knock on the door showed her how worse this situation could possibly get.

She opened the door and there was a blinding light in her face.

"Hi, I'm Colin Creevy, we were both in the same house. I'm with the Daily Prophet and would like to do an interview with Oliver Wood about his battle against Puddlemere United. I heard he lives here now. Is there any way-"

"No, Colin! NO! I think you should just leave Oliver alone." Katie yelled at him.

"Well, Katie, I would just like to tell you and Oliver that I looked up to Oliver Wood when I was younger. He won the House Cup for us. I used to sit out in the stands and watch your practices and take pictures. I really respect him. I can have Oliver spin the story in his favor. I'm afraid others aren't going to be so understanding." Colin tried explaining to Katie.

"Others?" Katie said shocked.

"Love it or hate it Katie, you're in the middle of the biggest story we've had for sometime." Colin gave her his most understanding smile.

Just then she heard rushed foosteps as an entire crowd of photographers and reporters clamored up her staircase. She did the only thing she could and slammed the door. And locked it. Three times. With three different charms.

She then got out her research proposal and started to write furiously. Leaving Oliver in the living room still staring at his hands.

The next morning, she got up and made coffee and opened the door to get her morning newspaper. As she opened it, the insert fell out. "Witch Weekly. SPIRALING QUIDDITCH STAR HOLES UP WITH UNKOWN MUGGLE GOLDDIGGING GIRLFRIEND. Inside Their Nasty Love Nest: A Story of Drugs, Depression, and Deception." On the bottom of the issue, there was a small hand-written note.

How about that interview? -CC

Katie threw the insert out and slammed the door. Things had suddenly gotten a lot worse. By a lot.

* * *

This is a short chapter I know, but I get to go home... back home to Boston soon after a really long flight... so I'll update more when I get back to the States. Oh speaking of weird things, I walked down the street and saw pirated versions of Harry Potter. I know you think it's fake editions of the real book but... NO. It was called Harry Potter and the Young Heroes. I was like... "You've got to be kidding me." But yes, there apparently are BOOKISH versions of it floating around. And yes, I bought a copy just for show and tell when I get back home.


	12. Chapter 12

"What are you doing?" Oliver looked over Katie's shoulder as she flipped another page in her spiral and continued writing completely ignoring him. It had been over two weeks since she had uttered a single word to him. He waited for a moment and then added, "I believe it was just over a month ago that you told me you needed me around to make things okay, and well, you seem pretty fine on your own now."

Katie tilted her head, glared at Oliver and said, "So when are you going to figure this whole deal out? Because if there will be photographers stalking my apartment, I would have to ask you nicely to leave. This wasn't part of the rent agreement. As a matter of fact, since you were so hell bent on ruining your life, and got sued… you won't even have enough cash to pay for the rent anyway." Katie slammed her book shut and then stood up and quickly walked over to the kitchen.

"Usually it takes people a while to find themselves you know? It's really not as simple as it seems." Oliver stood and tried to block Katie's attempted escape.

"Yeah, well most people continue living their lives, when they're trying to find themselves. They don't lie to friends and let other people down." Katie slammed the refrigerator door making Oliver jump. She shoved past him and started walking towards her room.

"Yeah you should be one to talk about not living your life and running away from your problems Katie." Oliver mumbled just loud enough for Katie to hear.

Katie stopped in here tracks. "What is THAT supposed to mean?" Katie glared at Oliver.

"You' re the one who runs away from magic, your problems at home… leaving everything you can't solve behind. You're just not really committed."

"Why are you making this whole situation about me? This really has nothing to do with me. You're the one being sued! You're the one causing the trouble! You're the one watching his life circling the drain! So don't you even make this situation about me." Katie crossed her arms defensively.

"I just don't know what I want anymore. If I knew I would go for it. I just don't know." Oliver gently pounded on the kitchen table. "Professional Quidditch wasn't what I thought it would be." He sat down at the table and looked at Katie.

Katie pulled out a chair next to him and hesitatingly placed her hands over his.

"It's a constant struggle of living someone else's life. I just want to play Quidditch because I like it, because I'm good at it… and the next thing I know, people scream my names from the stands, women throw themselves at me, children look up to me as their role model, and I'm given more money than I've ever seen in my life. I'm expected to be suave, glamorous, and charming, when I'm still that kid who lights stuff on fire in Snape's class because he was too busy writing up plays." Oliver sighed. "I've been living a life others want to live. I haven't really done much living on my own until I came over here."

"You made a commitment though." Katie stated.

Oliver noticed picked up Witch Weekly, read the headline and quickly, flipped it over and swallowed painfully seeing the moving picture of a scared Katie dodging various photographers while she was leaving her apartment for classes. "I know I made one. Now, I intend to follow it through. I intend on writing a letter of apology and showing up to practice tomorrow." Oliver looked down at his hands and took a deep breath.

"What made you change your mind?" Katie asked curiously.

"I'm committed. I've always been a committed kid, always knew what I wanted, never changed you know? My grandmother used to make lemon tarts and she used to send them to Hogwarts and I would have one every night after Quidditch practice and when she passed away my 3rd year, I stopped eating them. My mom would still bake them and send them to me every week, I just knew they wouldn't be as good, so I just stopped." Oliver took another deep breath. "I've done this non-committed thing for several months now, and it's just not right for me." Oliver paused a moment, swallowed and started talking again. "I'm just hedging my bets here. Puddlemere is totally devoted to me. All I have to be is totally devoted to them and it will eventually work out. With us, I'm committed, I'm here, always have been, always will be… but you're not."

"I thought we were okay." Katie paused for a moment, thought about what he just said, and ran a hand through her hair frustratedly and crossed her arms.

"Yeah, I'm sure, since you haven't talked to me in over two weeks. Maybe when you say you have feelings for someone but refuse to be in a relationship with them, that changes the rules a little. Maybe then it's acceptable to ignore me for two weeks." Oliver trailed off.

"Was that what you were talking about when you said I wasn't committed?" Katie asked slowly. She tried to add more to try and convince him to see things her way but all of those excuses… that she wasn't ready for a relationship, that she was too busy with her life right now, that she couldn't get too emotionally involved… all of those things seemed to boil down to the fact that she wasn't committed. She wanted an easy way out if the opportunity ever presented itself.

"So what I'm trying to say is this. I'll be at practices, traveling to different games all over the world and won't be around a lot anymore. If you want a way out Katie, this is it. You've got to take it because I won't. You're the love of my life. You've got to be the one to end it because I can't. I'm committed. I can't wake up every morning wondering if this is the day that you will realize that you're too good for this and move on. So you've really got to help me out here…" Oliver looked up at Katie who turned five shades paler, kissed her on the forehead and headed into his room

* * *

.Back home... finally. Yay! Thanks for the reviews! 


	13. Chapter 13

Katie went to her classes and glanced at the TA scribbling economics formulas madly on the board and looked back down at her spiral. She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair rubbing the bridge of her nose. She had an unsettling feeling as she shifted her weight in her chair. When class was dismissed she took her time collecting her writing utensils and slowly packing them into her bag.

"I called you last night, you know? You missed free pizza night. The boys and I missed you, kiddo." A tan guy in a brown blazer said in a disappointed voice as he handed Katie her spiral.

"Yeah, sorry. Just haven't really been myself lately I guess." She brushed her hair from her face and picked up her bag. Her shoulder tensed under the weight.

"Yeah that's what love does to you." He gazed at the attractive economics TA and sighed. "I know what it does to you."

"Oh, not you too." Katie added. The thought of her and Oliver crossed her mind and she shook her head to dispel the thoughts.

"That boy you brought to our last party wouldn't be the reason you've been MIA would it?" He chuckled a little bit nudging Katie. "I mean, when I first met him I knew he was a bad apple… that I have to protect my little Katie!"

"I'm pretty sure you weren't yourself after the first 3 drinks." Katie smiled back at him.

"He's dangerous Katie. I'm straight and I found that boy attractive. He's trouble." He suddenly stopped in his tracks making Katie run into him. "You ARE having Oliver Wood problems aren't you?" He said in an amused voice.

Katie thought about it for a while. "He wants a commitment. I just don't know what I want."

"You realize in boy language that's him cutting out his heart and handing it to you on a platter right? Tell me you're going to talk to him about it… now." He said in disbelief.

"He's waited for 7 years to tell me how he feels. I think he can afford to wait a little longer for me to figure out how I feel." Katie quickened her pace to keep up with his long stride.

"Oh man, oh man, am I glad I'm into brunettes because Katie Bell here will eat your gonads for breakfast." He turned around and made a face at her and continued walking.

"It's just complicated. There's baggage involved. He comes from a different background that I'm not really sure I want to be a part of." Katie mumbled.

"You mean he's like a Mormon?" He asked confused.

"No, not really." Katie shook her head.

"Well whatever that background is… it can't possibly be that bad can it?" He added thoughtfully. "Does he have a prison record and a violent past?"

"No!" Katie said in disbelief.

"A wife and three kids back in Scotland?"

"No." Katie rolled her eyes at him.

"Does he have a small penis?"

Katie instinctively whacked his arm. "I won't even dignify that question with an answer."

"I only said that because if I looked like him, I wouldn't have to study this stuff anymore. I would just walk around all day, not work and just be naked and have women throw themselves at me." He laughed. "Anyway, seriously, save the drama for your girlfriends."

"I don't know what I want though." Katie sighed.

He elbowed her side and said, "You know what you want. Always have and always will."

Katie stopped following him but he continued walking.

"If you know what you want and don't go for it… you really don't deserve it Katie. But you knew that too didn't you." He turned the corner and left her standing in the middle of the hall with a helpless look on her face. She waited for a minute until she felt the corners of her mouth creep up. She ran as fast as she could and caught up with her friend and tossed her bag at him as she ran past him and told him to hold onto it.

She ran down the steps of the subway station and made it just as the doors closed. She placed her forehead on the metal bar and felt her head pounding madly. As soon as the subway reached her stop, Katie shoved her way off the train and starting sprinting up the stairs towards her apartment building across the street. When she entered the building she started taking 2 stairs at a time and finally reached her apartment door. She banged as hard as she could on the door.

No answer.

She tried again.

Still nothing. She suddenly realized she had left her bag and her keys with her friend and she had no way of entering her apartment.

She placed her head against the door and squeezed her eyes shut. She could feel her heart pounding and her hands quivering. She took a deep breath and whispered, "Alohomora."

The door unlocked itself and she closed her eyes.

Oliver stood a few feet from the door in a towel and patches of shaving cream on his face. "I came as soon as I heard. I was in the shower." He made a face and tried to rub the remaining cream from his face. "How did you get in without a key?" Suddenly he understood and smiled to himself.

Katie smiled and ran full speed towards him and kissed him. Before he could respond, she broke the kiss and whispered, "I love you. I love you. I love you."

Oliver picked up the latest issue of Witch Weekly and pointed to the cover with a picture of him with the title, "Hottest Quidditch Singles" and gave her a ridiculous grin.

Katie rolled her eyes.

"Let's prove them wrong, shall we?" he said as he kissed her.

* * *

Yay! Done done done! Thanks for all the reviews and support! Cheers. 


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